North Carolina News – November 13

TROPICAL WEATHER

Eta races off to sea from Carolinas after soaking Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Eta became a post-tropical cyclone Friday as it raced off into the Atlantic Ocean, having delivered heavy rains and gusty winds to the Carolinas after blustering across north Florida. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Theta was moving closer to Europe, and yet another storm was brewing in the Caribbean Sea, where Tropical Depression 31 could get a name _ Iota _ later Friday or Saturday. Forecasters warned that it could be near major hurricane strength as it approaches Central America late Sunday and Monday, following a path of death and destruction left by Eta last week. This has been an extraordinarily busy hurricane season.

BC-NC-UNCG LAYOFFS

13 people laid off at UNCG in wake of coronavirus pandemic

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has laid off 13 employees in its online division as it deals with financial constraints wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. The News & Record reported Thursday that the job cuts took place last week. The losses occurred at UNCG Online. It runs the university’s online graduate and undergraduate degree programs. University spokeswoman Eden Bloss said the employees got “very generous” severance packages and can keep their health coverage for the next year. Bloss said the layoffs follow enrollment and revenue declines as well as increased costs due to the pandemic.

AP-NC-FLOODED CAMPGROUND-RESCUE

Search resumes for 2 after North Carolina campground flooded

HIDDENITE, N.C. (AP) — Emergency crews have resumed their search for a 1-year-old and an adult who are still missing after flood waters swept through a campground in North Carolina. The Charlotte Observer reports that the search resumed Friday morning in Alexander County following the deaths of three people at the Hiddenite Family Campground. The campground is approximately 50 miles north of Charlotte. Floodwaters had either covered or swept away the recreational vehicles at the campground. It’s next to the South Yadkin River and is home for many of the people caught in the flood. Crews saved 31 people from their vehicles, some of them hanging onto their campers.

NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING

Police: 6 shot, including 2 officers, at North Carolina club

GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — Police say six people, including two police officers, were shot during a nightclub brawl in North Carolina. The Gastonia Police Department said in a statement that the shooting erupted Thursday night at Remedies Nightclub in Gastonia after the two officers who were working off-duty at the club attempted to de-escalate the fight. Authorities say both officers and the other four people who were shot sustained non-life threatening injuries. Police say two suspects, Alonzo Lewis Hamilton and Allen Slaughter, were arrested and charged with six felony counts each of assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. It was not immediately clear if Hamilton and Slaughter had an attorney.

BC-US-FLOODED CAMPGROUND-RESCUE

3 dead, 2 missing from flooding at North Carolina campsite

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say three people are dead and two more are missing after floodwaters swept through a campsite about 50 miles north of Charlotte. Alexander County director of Doug Gillespie said at least 31 campers were rescued from the campsite, with three taken to the hospital. Gillespie says two of the three have been released. In addition to the deaths at the campsite, Gillespie says another person was killed on a washed-out road. The flooding was the result of heavy rains that passed through the state Thursday and which led to flash flood watches for many areas.

CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS-NORTH CAROLINA-LAWSUIT

N.C. NAACP chapter sues county over Confederate monument

GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina NAACP chapter has filed a lawsuit against a board of commissioners over relocating a Confederate monument. The Gaston Gazette reports the lawsuit filed Thursday argues the monument’s prominent public location in front of the Gaston County Courthouse violates rights protected by North Carolina’s constitution. The lawsuit also says the monument “exalts the cause of slavery, secession and white supremacy.” The suit says the Gaston County Commissioners are violating the rights of citizens in “backtracking” on an August vote to give the monument to a local Sons of Confederate Veterans group.

BC-NC-OVERTURNED BOAT-SEARCH

Search continues for 2 men after boat was found overturned

BEAUFORT, N.C. (AP) — A search is continuing for two people who were believed to be on a recreational fishing boat that overturned off the North Carolina coast. The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Thursday that it and its partner agencies are still looking for George Hamilton Andrews of Raleigh and William Watkins Merriman IV of Wilmington. Their boat was discovered near Beaufort Inlet off the southern Outer Banks Tuesday morning. The men were last seen departing from Atlantic Beach on Sunday for a fishing trip aboard a 35-foot boat named Strike Zone. The Coast Guard had deployed a diver to the overturned fishing boat and found “all the lights and gear were still energized.”

BC-US-RACIAL INJUSTICE-CHURCH THREAT

Threat to burn Black church: North Carolina man gets 2 years

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to two years in prison for threatening to burn down a Black church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The U.S. Department of Justice says 63-year-old John Malcolm Bareswill of Catawba, North Carolina, was sentenced Thursday. According to court documents, Bareswill called the church in June, made racially derogatory remarks, and threatened to set it ablaze. The call came days after one of the church’s leaders took part in a prayer vigil and peaceful demonstration for George Floyd. The Black man died May 25 in police custody in Minnesota after a white officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes.